Mind you, I'd never heard of Supima until a few days ago, when I came across it in a clothing catalogue. At first I thought Supima was a patented type of cotton, but it's not:

Founded in 1954, Supima is the promotional organization of the American Pima cotton growers. The Board of Directors of this non-profit organization is composed of Pima growers from the states of Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas. All members pay a voluntary per bale assessment to support Supima's marketing and promotional activities.

Supima's primary objective is to promote the increased consumption of American Pima cotton around the world. Supima is a major sponsor of research programs to improve the quality of American Pima. Supima also works closely with cotton industry organizations and government agencies to ensure a fair and viable marketing environment for American Pima cotton growers. Supima also provides timely crop and market information to its grower-members and licensees.

At the core of Supima's promotional activities is a licensing program in which select, high-quality textile mills, apparel and textile manufacturers, and retailers are granted a license to use the Supima® trademark. Licensees use the Supima® trademark to market and promote their textile, home fashion and apparel products made of 100% American Pima cotton. Over 300-fine count textile mills, manufacturers and retailers from around the world are licensed to use the Supima® brand.

In order to promote its awareness of the Supima® brand, Supima advertises in both consumer and trade publications. Additionally, Supima staff members regularly make presentations to customers both in the U.S. and abroad. To the extent possible, Supima staff personally visit major fine-count textile mills in locations around the world. Supima regularly participates in major international home fashion and apparel exhibitions and events.

Okay, I was going to bust this down to a bite-sized blogger blurb, but I think it's interesting. One of my chief complaints about clothing which doesn't cost hundreds of dollars, after all, is poor material. Not poor construction, which I can fix myself in ten minutes with a needle and thread. Shoddy material, you can do nothing about; you simply watch in horror as your clothing dissolves in less than a year.

Is Supima licensed cotton better?

Scanning their merchant list, I see the familiar Brooks Brothers and Land's End. Not listed is Eddie Bauer, where I first stumbled across the Supima reference.

I will say a word about my small obsession with made in the U.S.A. products (or in this case, grown in the U.S.A.). I don't think it translates to people who don't remember when Americans...manufactured, when we made stuff.

I don't propose we return to that era; the cost would be prohibitive for certain things, it wouldn't make sense. But we've been far too quick to throw out every kind of manufacturing, to not give our own citizens something to do.

On a more personal level, my own industry, software engineering, went out the same window as all the rest, the making of shoes, steel, of...dishes, of major appliances, of everything. Pure consumption is not the same thing as production. It's not only the dignity of earning a paycheck, it...kills your brain, if all you do is consume. When you make something, you have to make the decisions...the materials and sourcing them, the design and engineering, the actual process of fabrication.

We've lost that, we have become incredibly impatient as a nation, because all we do now is buy, which takes less than a minute.

Hence I have taken an interest in whatever is made here. It's a personal thing, it's based on my budget, and I'll emphasize it's hardly altruistic. I live here. If there's some small way I can support whatever people are up to here, I'm in.